There were far more demons than the two of them could handle, and, while Shikigami would help, Tsuzuki wasn't sure Hisoka would be able to handle summoning Kurikara again. The last summon seemed to have tired him out, and it would be dangerous to summon again when Hisoka was already low on energy.

"We have to find a way out of here. We can't fight this many!"

Hisoka shook his head, refusing to surrender. "I'm not going to give up. I don't care what it takes- I'm getting you back to Meifu!" He brought his hands together, ready to summon Kurikara again, when Tsuzuki grabbed his wrist.

"Wait! You already expended a lot of energy last time, summoning him again so quickly is dangerous. I'll take care of it."

"Tsuzuki! Kurosaki!"

Both Shinigami stopped what they were doing and turned around. Tsukiori (who had seemingly just warped into the demon realm) ran up to them, and was suddenly grabbing Hisoka's hand. "We're leaving."

Hisoka quickly grabbed onto Tsuzuki, and, in an instant, they were teleported out of the demon realm, reappearing amongst the living.

No sooner had they arrived than a voice spoke up from behind them. "'Bout time you two showed up."

Turning around, the pair spotted Terazuma and Kannuki, much to their surprise.

"Terazuma? Wakaba? What are you two doing here?" Tsuzuki questioned.

"We're here to help your sorry ass." Terazuma grumbled, spitting out the cigarette that had been in his mouth.

Looking around, Tsuzuki and Hisoka noticed they weren't the only ones that had come. Watari greeted them with a friendly wave while Tatsumi gave a nod.

"What's going on? Why are you all here?" Hisoka asked, thoroughly confused.

"Well," Watari began, "Once you left, bon, Tsukiori here came to tell us what had happened."

Tsukiori gave a nod. "I'm sorry to have left you, but I thought you'd be alright for a little while as long as you were with Tsuzuki. I had to take advantage of the distraction to get out of there and tell the others what had happened. While you were getting your partner, we were preparing for battle with the demons."

The last statement worried Tsuzuki. "Preparing for battle? What do you mean?"

"There was information from the other Shinigami sent out on this case that the situation was growing worse than had been anticipated. While Ashitarote was waiting for Tsuzuki to either give in or be killed, other demons were preparing an uprising. These past few years have been a mess for the demons. Many questioned their government since a Shinigami lawfully held such a high position in the demon realm. What upset them further was that you had no intentions of claiming it. The demons were clever about it, however, and their attempts on your life were well executed- Ashitarote couldn't pinpoint which demons were doing it, where they were or where they would strike next. While some of them he was able to catch, others were getting away with it.

"With this incident, it is quite likely demons will go all-out in their attempts to kill you, as well as take over the human realm."

This news horrified Tsuzuki. In his attempts to avoid any more bloodshed, he inadvertently caused more. "I...I..."

"Don't worry, Tsuzuki, it's not your fault." Tsukiori said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Something like this was bound to happen, but many were blind to it. Nobody expected this to happen. You realized things wouldn't be solved so easily and did what you thought you had to. The demons have been planning this for a while. What you can do now, Tsuzuki, is stay and fight if you want to protect. The demons will come looking for you. What they won't expect is for the rest of us to be here."

"A shield has been placed around this area." Watari said, giving Tsuzuki a reassuring smile. "It will make us and the demons invisible to any human that happens to wander by. This is a pretty abandoned area, but, just in case, we've set up safety precautions. And, of course, any humans who may wander in will be protected and have their memories wiped."

Kannuki skipped over to Tsuzuki and handed him a handful of ofuda. "Here! I brought extra since I figured you wouldn't have any on you."

Tsuzuki took the spells with a small smile. "Thank you, Wakaba."

"Get ready." Tsukiori said, looking around. "They could be here at any moment."

The air had been tense before, but it was even more so now. Hisoka tried his best to keep out the emotions of the others in order to sense any nearby demons before they could attack. They stood there for what felt like hours in silence, shifting uncomfortably, though it had only been a minute.

A sudden surge of malicious intent hit Hisoka all at once. He wanted to call out a warning, but all that came out of his mouth was a yelp. That seemed to be enough for the others, however. Terazuma transformed just as a mass of demons appeared all around them. As soon as one of the demons spotted Tsuzuki, it lunged, two dog-like heads ready to tear him apart. Tatsumi was first to react, knocking the demon back with Tsuzuki's own shadow.

After that single attack and retaliation, the rest of the demons followed.

The Shinigami were easily outnumbered, but were holding up well against their enemies. Due to the fact most of them were focusing their attacks on Tsuzuki, it left the others more able to defend him. Once the demons realized how many Shinigami they were fighting, however, they changed tactics. While most of the group still focused on Tsuzuki, at least one other demon would focus on a specific Shinigami and attempt to prevent them from helping their main target.

A feline-like demon leaped at Tsuzuki. Fortunately, the Shinigami saw the attack coming, and quickly retaliated, knocking the demon back before it was able to reach him. Not a second after he'd done that, he heard a loud roar from right behind him. Turning around, he found himself facing a large serpent that was flying right at him. He moved to avoid the attack, but the demon still caught his shoulder in its teeth. The demon pulled Tsuzuki along with him before swinging its head violently, sending Tsuzuki flying and all but tearing the man's arm off.

Hearing Tsuzuki's cry, Hisoka looked around for him. He found his partner laying a good distance away, holding his bloodied arm as it laid uselessly at an awkward angle beside him. As Hisoka rushed over to help, the same serpent that had attacked Tsuzuki blocked his path.

"Get out of my way!" A blast from the Shinigami damaged the demon, but it held its ground. It roared in anger and reared back to attack Hisoka. Before either had another chance to attack, his shadow rose up and pierced through the demon's chest, causing it to fall back with a cry of pain. Yelling a thanks to Tatsumi, Hisoka passed his opponent and continued over to his partner.

As he knelt down beside Tsuzuki, he could see just how bad the injury was. While it wasn't something that a Shinigami couldn't recover from, it was still serious enough to need to be healed quickly, lest Tsuzuki be out of commission for a while. His arm was almost completely severed off. The bleeding was beginning to slow, but it was still trickling down his arm, soaking his clothes and staining the ground. The sight made Hisoka queazy, but there wasn't time for him to let that get in his way.

"Hold on, Tsuzuki, I'll help." Quickly, Hisoka began healing his partner, pouring as much energy into it at once as he could. As the bleeding stopped and the flesh began mending, Tsuzuki felt the pain slowly start to recede. He looked up at Hisoka and his eyes widened.

"Hisoka!"

There wasn't time to react before the demon that had snuck up behind Hisoka attacked. Razor-sharp feathers flew towards them. Just before the attack hit them, it was deflected by an invisible shield. Looking up, Hisoka found Kannuki standing nearby.

"Don't worry, we've got you covered! Just help Tsuzuki!" She said with a smile.

Hisoka gave a nod. "Thank you, Kannuki."

Before the large bird-like demon had another chance to attack, Kuroshungei tackled it, tearing into it with powerful claws. Once that opponent was down, he moved on to the next one, defeating any demon that was aiming to take Kannuki down to get to Tsuzuki.

"How's that?" Hisoka asked once Tsuzuki's arm had been healed.

"Good as new. Thank you, Hisoka. And thank you too, Wakaba."

Kannuki smiled. "Don't mention it!"

"I'm alright now, you should go help the others."

With a nod, Kannuki lowered the barrier and ran off to assist Tsukiori, who was fighting a small group of demons on her own.

"Tsuzuki Asato." A familiar female voice said, getting the attention of both Shinigami. Before them stood the fallen angel. Her voice was filled with hatred. "You have betrayed us. As a fugitive demon, I've come to deal your punishment. You will come back with me, or die here."

Hisoka stood up, keeping himself between the demon and his partner. "He's not a demon, and he's not going anywhere."

"You're a fool, boy. You will fall with him." Her wings flared out with a pulse of energy, almost knocking Hisoka back. Before either Shinigami could react, a dark energy wrapped itself around Hisoka, burning through his skin.

"Leave him alone!" Tsuzuki yelled, pulling out one of the ofuda Kannuki had handed to him earlier and attacking the demon. "It's me you are after, not him!"

The fallen angel deflected the attack. "If he stands in the way, then he will be killed as well. Now, you can come back with me and end this fighting, or you can stay here and it will continue until you are killed. What shall it be?"

"The fighting won't stop. I tried putting an end to it, but even if I do hold the position, some of the demons won't be satisfied. They hate somebody like me being there. Even if they kill me, others will find another excuse within the mess to invade the human world and try to take it over. Too many people have died because of this. I won't let you hurt anyone else." Tsuzuki attacked again, but this time, the fallen angel wasn't able to defend against it. She was knocked back by the force of the blast, stopping only after she skid across the ground.

Hisoka stared up at the back of Tsuzuki. There was a power emitting from him that the empath had never felt before. While he had felt something similar in the past, it was never to this degree. After the attack, he felt a sense of fear from his partner. Was this the power Tsuzuki had been repressing this whole time, the demon part of him he'd been too scared to even acknowledge existed? If it hadn't been the fact that it was Tsuzuki standing before him and not someone else, the raw power would have scared him. Yet, because it was Tsuzuki, the only thing Hisoka feared was how Tsuzuki felt about it. His partner seemed to be trying to bury the fear, however, in favor of using his power to end this fight once and for all.

With Tsuzuki's new display of power, most of the remaining demons decided to turn their attention on him. Hisoka took advantage of the distraction to summon his Shikigami again. While he knew he was getting tired from all the energy he'd been expending, he ignored it, even as the dragon appeared and caused another large drain on Hisoka. At the Shinigami's command, Kurikara flew to Tsuzuki's side, fighting off any demons that threatened to get close enough to attack him. The tides turned, and the demons were quickly losing the fight. As their numbers dwindled, some retreated. Those that didn't retreat were killed.

Silence suddenly reigned, no demons left standing. Hisoka dismissed Kurikara. With the adrenaline rush over, he began to feel just how much energy he'd burned. He swayed, but held on to a nearby tree to keep himself upright. He was getting dizzy, and feared he may actually collapse. Ahead of him, he saw Tsuzuki sink to his knees. Worried, he ignored his own exhaustion, pushed himself off the trunk of the tree and made his way over to his partner.

Tsuzuki sat staring ahead at nothing in particular. He didn't know what to think, how to feel about what had happened. While the others sounded happy at the victory, and it was indeed a good thing that the demons had been defeated without any major injuries or casualties, he just couldn't bring himself to be happy. He'd seen the extent of his own power, the demon part of him unleash, and it scared him. It was too strong, too unforgiving.

It reminded him too much of the night when his sister died, when he'd snapped and felt that rush of power that led to the deaths of others.

While he had no choice against the demons, who was to say he wouldn't use it against a human, against anything that didn't deserve it? Who was to say he wouldn't end up any better than Muraki?

A hand on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts. Realizing it was Hisoka, he tried to hide them, though he knew the empath had already felt them.

"Tsuzuki..."

Tsuzuki looked up at him with a forced smile. "We did it."

Hisoka knelt beside him, hand still on his shoulder. "Don't try to fake it, Tsuzuki. I know you better than that."

"I'm...I'm..." He wanted to say 'I'm fine', but he couldn't seem to bring himself to lie this time. It was something he'd said so many times before behind a mask of happiness, so why couldn't he now?

"You can tell me, Tsuzuki."

Tsuzuki stayed silent. Before Hisoka was able to say anything else, Tatsumi stopped beside them.

"Tsuzuki-san...I'm glad you are back."

The purple-eyed Shinigami looked up at his former partner, somewhat disbelieving that everyone had come to help him. "Tatsumi..."

"We were worried about ya!" Watari said, smiling at his friend.

Kannuki nodded in agreement. "Don't leave us in the dark next time, okay?" She looked up expectantly at Terazuma, who had returned to his normal form.

"Don't go running off and causing trouble again." Terazuma grumbled, not looking at Tsuzuki.

"Hajime!" Kannuki sighed and turned back to Tsuzuki. "He was worried too, he just won't admit it."

Tsuzuki didn't know what to say. Did they really know the truth about him? Did they know he wasn't human? They had seen him in battle, so they had to have seen it, and yet, here they were, all telling him how they were worried for him, how they were happy he was back. Did he really deserve such sentiments?

"Well, it seems it's all under control now." Tsukiori said, joining the group. "I'm going to continue to keep an eye on things, since it's sure to be hectic. With what has happened though, Meifu is going to have no choice but to contact Ashitarote. There shouldn't be any more demon attacks, and if there are, they'll be swiftly dealt with by both sides." She looked to Tsuzuki and Hisoka. "Take care, Tsuzuki, Kurosaki."

Hisoka gave a nod. "Thank you, Tsukiori."

"Don't mention it." With that, Tsukiori left, transporting herself elsewhere.

"We should get going too." Tatsumi said, "I'm going to report to the chief about what happened, he needs to know right away."

Watari nodded. "I'll go with you. Hey, Hisoka, take care of Tsuzuki for us!" With a wink, Watari and Tatsumi left as well.

"I suppose we'll be going too then." Kannuki smiled, then leaned down to hug Tsuzuki and then Hisoka. "If you need anything at all, just let me know!" Soon, she and Terazuma were gone as well, leaving Hisoka and Tsuzuki alone.

"We should go back too."

"I...I can't go back." Tsuzuki said, staring down, not looking at Hisoka.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't belong."

"Don't be stupid, of course you belong."

"No...Ashitarote himself confirmed it. I'm not human, Hisoka. My father...he was half-demon. My mother was human. I'm not human, but I'm not a full demon either. I don't belong anywhere." Tsuzuki bit his lip, trying to hold back tears. "I can't go back after what I did. I even left you." The pain of leaving Hisoka behind was the worst he'd ever experienced. It was made even worse when he remembered Hisoka's words to him in Kyoto. Tsuzuki felt like he'd failed Hisoka completely. His attempts to protect him once again backfired. It was too much. The only time he'd ever felt so bad was when he failed his sister, and had lost her as a result. "I wanted to protect you, but it backfired. I failed you again."

Hisoka put a hand on Tsuzuki's shoulder, and the older man buried his face in his chest, sobbing and clinging to Hisoka. "I'm so s-sorry, Hi-soka. I didn't want to leave you, but I...I wanted to protect you! I-I couldn't put you in any more danger! But, you still came back for me. I'm so sorry."

"Of course I came back for you. I can never abandon you."

"I'm sorry. I love you, Hisoka. That's why...that's why I left. I had to do anything it took to keep you safe, even if I didn't want it. I didn't mean what I said, I just wanted to protect you. I love you."

Hisoka didn't know how to respond. Nobody had ever told him they loved him before. He knew Tsuzuki cared about him, but he'd always pushed the thought of love aside. Part of it had been because he didn't think anybody would love him, but the bigger part was because he was scared. He was afraid of being in love. He feared being hurt in the end.

For the time being, Hisoka just let Tsuzuki cry in his arms. He patiently waited for the man to calm down, knowing it would be better to hold a conversation after he stopped crying. Once Tsuzuki's sobs slowed, Hisoka pulled away slightly. "Let's go home."

Tsuzuki gave a nod, and let Hisoka teleport them out of the living world and to his apartment. They entered silently. The older man sat down on the couch, the younger following suit. It was Hisoka who spoke up first.

"Tsuzuki, you understand you belong here now, right?"

"I...I don't know. How can they accept somebody like me? How can you accept somebody that's...not even human?"

Hisoka turned to face Tsuzuki, making sure his partner was looking him in the eye. "Listen to me. It doesn't matter what you are. It's who you are. I don't care if you told me you were a full demon. You are more human than anybody I know. The ones who are the demons are the ones who can kill others without remorse. Muraki is a demon. My mother was a demon. But you, Tsuzuki...you care for everyone. You will do everything in your power to protect another. That is why you are, without a doubt, human."

"Hisoka..."

Hisoka moved to wrap his arms tightly around his partner. "Stay with me. Please... I need you, more than you realize. When I told you that I need you in my life that time in Kyoto, I meant it, every word of it. Don't apologize any more...just stay. You're the place I belong, and I want to be the same for you. I'll always be here for you, just like you've always done for me."

Tsuzuki returned the embrace. "Thank you, Hisoka..." He rested his head against Hisoka's chest, listening to the steady, soothing sound of his heartbeat. Closing his eyes, he relaxed in his partner's arms. To think that he had almost lost this...it surely would have been tormenting. He could no longer live without Hisoka, and it seemed Hisoka couldn't live without him either. The bond they had formed couldn't be broken. They belonged with each other, and that was all that mattered.

"I really meant it when I said that I love you, Hisoka. I love you more than anything. I can't pretend I don't think of you as more than just my friend and work partner. You mean everything to me."

Suddenly worried his confession might have scared Hisoka, Tsuzuki pulled away and looked at him. "I'm sorry if I scared you. If you don't feel the same, it's fine, and I won't act on it. I just...had to tell you."

"Tsuzuki..." Hisoka blushed as Tsuzuki looked into his eyes. There was so much caring in those purple eyes, such a warm feeling coming from him, a feeling that Hisoka had never felt before his death, but one that he had, perhaps, begun seeking sometime during this second chance. He was unsure, however, of how to react to this kind of love. While he couldn't deny that he did, in some way, love Tsuzuki, he was unsure how how far he could take it. The thought of forming a relationship scared him, but at the same time, to have one with Tsuzuki, it was inviting. If there was anyone he could ever get that intimate with, it was his partner, the one person he knew would never hurt him.

"That's not it. You mean a lot to me, Tsuzuki, it's just..." the empath averted his gaze, "I'm not sure...what to do. I mean, I need you in my life, no matter what, but I don't know if I can...provide you with what you want. It's..." he sighed in aggravation. "I'm sorry, Tsuzuki, I just need to think about it a little. Please don't take it the wrong way."

Tsuzuki gave a soft smile. "I understand. I thought you'd need some time to figure it out. Just know that I don't intend to change what we currently have unless you want to. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't like to be with you, but I'm perfectly content with the relationship we already have. As long as I have you with me, that is all that matters."

"Thank you, Tsuzuki. Umm...we can still...cuddle, if you'd like." Hisoka blushed, hoping his hesitation hadn't ruined the moment. He knew Tsuzuki enjoyed it, and, after almost losing him, Hisoka did too. The warm emotions Tsuzuki felt were appealing to the empath, and being so close was physically comfortable.

Tsuzuki smiled and moved to rest against his partner again, arms around his waist and head laying against his chest. As he felt Hisoka's arms wrap around him, he closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. In the end, he was glad that Hisoka had come for him and rescued him from his own decision, because, as he'd come to realize, there was no place he was happier, no place he belonged more, than with Hisoka.

Author's Note: And thus is the end of this fanfiction. Thank you so much to all those who have read and reviewed! I truly appreciate it. I've really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it just as much. This isn't quite the end, however. As I have mentioned previously, I am planning a sequel. Just as a little hint, whereas the main focus of this one was Tsuzuki and his past, the next will look more into Hisoka overcoming his personal demons. You can expect a bit more romance in the next one too, as our two little lovebirds continue to grow closer. ;) Keep an eye out for it! Thank you again for following this story until the end. Until next time! ^^